Big Changes at the Magazine, By Kate Wolford

 

Hello Enchanted Friends:

I’m busy picking stories and poems for the next issue, and with that in mind, I want to let you know that the August issue will be a small one. We will then go on hiatus in terms of buying and publishing new work through the end of the current year. That means submission windows will not be open again for publication in 2022. We are doing this to allow us to save money and time for the new publication we are launching in 2023!

This is a long post, but please read the whole thing. I hope you’ll like what I’m saying here.

Here are some of the big changes:

We’ll be getting a gorgeous new site thanks to Amanda Bergloff, Art Director and all-around-site genius. You’ll be seeing that debut soon. We know this current site is very slow! Believe me, WE KNOW!

Our theme for 2023 is LOVE, with a special emphasis on romance. There will be two reading periods for next year’s submissions. I haven’t nailed down the dates exactly, yet, but I’m thinking that the first will be from early December of this year through mid-January, 2023. The second will probably be from the beginning of next May through mid-June. I’ll announce them formally in the next couple of months.

We are publishing four issues next year. We will still be paying $50 per work (and probably buy around 30 total works next year), but I am going to allow a wider range for length, because some writers would rather be paid less per word and tell a longer story. That has been a consistent concern for many writers for years when they submit to us.

The four issues next year will be available in a splendid digital magazine form from the platform ISSUU. The issues will be filled with art, poetry, short stories and “The Best of” from years past. (Best of writers will be contacted and have a new contract when we do that, and can refuse to participate.) At the end of the year, we will publish a print yearbook for 2023. That means that stories and poems (including “The Best of”) published digitally from 2023 will be on actual paper! At last! 

We will formally be doing business as “The Enchanted Press,” starting Jan. 1, 2023. We will also be a nonprofit. That means that what we earn has to significantly go to the health and welfare of  the business, and that’s how I’d like to run things. Our financial statements will have to be filed with the state of Indiana starting in January, because we will have to be transparent.

The other reason why we are going nonprofit is that we are going behind a paywall starting in January, and I hope that knowing the magazine is run as a nonprofit will encourage people to pay the low subscription rate per year. I haven’t decided how much the subscriptions will be, but they will not be high cost, I promise. Yes, you will be able to buy single digital issues, but the value of a yearly subscription will be higher. The yearbook will be sold separately.

We are going behind the paywall so the magazine can continue. It’s that simple. With the stock market in a mess, inflation on the rise, and my husband and I approaching our retirement years, I have to find a way to keep the magazine going and at least have it break even. 

But we hope to do so much more. If enough people subscribe and become patrons, we can become a small-time book publisher of anthologies and poetry chapbooks. We dream of making The Enchanted Press a small but very real player in the fairy-tale/magic realism segment of the book market.

To that end, in addition to subscriptions, we’ll be offering memberships at different levels to help support the site, and we’ll be selling merchandise on the site. We will not be using Patreon—and that campaign was suspended at the beginning and of this month—but will have our own pledge system that cuts the cost of Patreon out. We hope the added value we offer next year will encourage people to subscribe and buy memberships that will allow The Enchanted Press to expand.

Next to last: There will be a spectacular serialized novel for subscribers in 2023, and I couldn’t be prouder! I’ll be dropping more hints in the future, but it’s by Lissa Sloan, one of my favorite writers.

(That’s in addition to all the great work the very talented Kelly Jarvis, Contributing Editor, will be doing for the magazine.)

Finally,

Enchanted Conversation

has officially become

The Fairy Tale Magazine.

To be honest, I got tired of having to write out Enchanted Conversation a long time ago, and I want the publication to reflect fairytalemagazine.com. The new site will reflect the name change.

That’s all! Feel free to comment below or email me at katewolford1@gmail.com.

Yours in Enchantment,

Kate Wolford 

Women of the Golden Age of Illustration: Margaret Evans Price, By Amanda Bergloff

 

 

The Golden Age of Illustration is a term applied to a time period (1880s - 1920s) of unprecedented excellence in book and magazine illustrations by artists in Europe and America. Advances in technology at the time allowed for accurate and inexpensive reproductions of their art, which allowed quality books to be available to the voracious public demand for new graphic art.

When many people think of the Golden Age of Illustration, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and other male artists come to mind, but there were also female artists that excelled during this time.

Margaret Evans Price was one such artist that produced magical work, so learn a bit more about her and her art below...

Margaret Evans Price (1888 - 1973) was an American children's book illustrator and author, but did you know that she was a co-founder of Fisher Price, one of the world's most popular toy manufacturers?

Margaret was interested in art from a young age and when she was twelve, she sold her first illustrated story to the Boston Journal. She received a formal art education in Boston at the Boston Academy of Fine Arts, then moved to New York City for freelance illustration work. There, she worked for publications like Harper & Brothers, Rand McNally, and Stecher Lithography creating illustrations for children's books of fairy tales and myths.

But illustration work was not her only career path as in 1930, along with her husband, Irving L. Price, Helen Schelle, and Herman J. Fisher, Margaret co-founded the Fisher-Price toy company that still exists today. She was the first Art Director of Fisher-Price where she designed push-pull toys based on characters from her children's books.

Margaret continued to exhibit her art in national galleries in the U.S. after the formation of Fisher-Price. Her art was not only published in children's books, but also in Nature Magazine, The Women's Home Companion, and Pictorial Review. A permanent collection of her works are housed at the New York Historical Society.

Margaret's simple, graphic style, combined with her beautiful compositions, makes her art enchanting for children and adults.

Check out her work below:

From Once Upon a Time - A Book of 

Old-Time Fairy Tales, 1921

From Enchantment Tales for Children, 1926

From A Child's Book of Myths, 1929

From Once Upon a Time - A Book of 

Old-Time Fairy Tales, 1921

From Off to Bed, 1920

Cinderella & Her Godmother, 1939

From Once Upon a Time - A Book of 

Old-Time Fairy Tales, 1921

The Land of Nod, 1916

The Old Woman & Her Pig, 1928

From A Child's Book of Myths, 1926

On the Road to Storyland, 1926

From A Child's Book of Myths, 1926

Beauty & The Beast, 1921

Little Red Riding Hood & The Wolf, 1921

From A Child's Book of Myths, 1926

And if you'd like to read a full children's book

that Price illustrated, you can find

The Troubles of Biddy

HERE

Enchanted Conversation's contributing editor, Amanda Bergloff, writes modern fairy tales and speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Frozen Fairy Tales, After the Happily Ever After, and Uncommon Pet Tales.

Follow her on Twitter @AmandaBergloff

Check out her Amazon Author page HERE

Join her every Tuesday on Twitter for #FairyTaleTuesday to share what you love about fairy tales, folktales, and myths.

Also, if you like sharing your #vss fairy tales on Twitter, follow @fairytaleflash and use #FairyTaleFlash so we can retweet!

 

Cover: Amanda Bergloff

Fairy Tale Style: Fairy Tale Garden Inspiration, By Amanda Bergloff

 

We here at Enchanted Conversation love all things fairy tale, which also includes incorporating a little fairy tale style into everyday life- and with summer just around the corner, we’ve turned our thoughts to refreshing your garden with some fairy tale inspired ideas.

What is a "Fairy Tale Garden?"

To us, it's a space you create that gives you a magical feeling. A fairy tale styled garden is an opportunity to create a retreat, set apart from the everyday world. A place to reflect and refresh your spirit, inspire you, and a place to go to enjoy the tranquility of nature. 

You don't have to have a large area to create a magical setting. A small space works too, as a Fairy Tale Garden is achievable by adding simple touches that don't have to break the bank.

We’ve gathered some thoughts and pictures below to inspire you to add a little fairy magic to your yard and life! And please share any of your own decor ideas and thoughts in the COMMENTS section below. We’d love to hear from you!

FLOWERS & HERBS

Planting flowers and herbs are a colorful and simple way to give any garden a magical feeling either by planting them in the ground, along a meandering path or using interesting, vintage containers and pots.

Not only do herbs add beauty to a Fairy Tale Garden, but they can be used in many ways - from utilizing them in cooking, making teas, adding dried elements to soap and candles, and more. Herbs also have symbolic and special meanings, such as:  Basil - Love / Mint - Virtue / Sage - Wisdom / Lavender - Devotion / Chamomile - Comfort / Rosemary - Remembrance / Thyme - Courage / Oregano - Joy

Check out some design ideas for adding magical herbs to your garden below:

OUTDOOR READING & SEATING

Reading outdoors is one of our favorite things to do during spring and summer...and having a spot to read with some fairy tale style is an enchanting way to spend an afternoon. Benches and little reading nooks tucked away in your garden space is the perfect way to add some fairy tale style. It can be as simple as a chaise lounge with some pillows, a vintage chair surrounded by flowers, a lovely garden bench under a tree, or a small converted shed.

WATER FEATURES

The sound of water in a garden is a magical thing, so water fountains are a wonderful addition to any Fairy Tale Garden.

DECORATE THE FENCE

The fence that surrounds your yard is a blank canvas, ready to add fairy tale flair to it. Vintage windows and mirrors create the illusion of being able to walk through a fairy portal, while colorful bird houses, pots of flowers, or painting a mural or favorite quote immediately elevates any garden space.

SCULPTURE & UPCYCLED ITEMS

Flea markets, thrift stores, garden centers, and garage sales are always budget friendly ways to find sculpture and other items to upcycle into new fairy tale treasures for the garden. Many everyday objects can be transformed into whimsical planters. Fairy sculptures peeking out from the foliage, vintage bird baths, and porcelain teapots add fairy tale magic to any backyard, too.

LIGHTING

And don't forget one of the most magical touches for any Fairy Tale Garden...the lighting! Beautiful lighting sets the mood and transports you to that happily-ever-after place at the end of the day through the use of lanterns, string lights, and candles.

HAPPY GARDENING TO ALL!

EC's contributing editor, Amanda Bergloff, writes modern fairy tales, folktales, and speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Frozen Fairy Tales, After the Happily Ever After, and Uncommon Pet Tales.

Twitter @AmandaBergloff

Instagram: amandabergloff 

Also, join her every Tuesday on Twitter for #FairyTaleTuesday to share what you love about fairy tales, folktales, and myths.

Also, if you like sharing your #vss fairy tales on Twitter, follow @fairytaleflash

"Fairy Tale Style" Cover Design: Amanda Bergloff 

Picture Resources:

- https://www.houzz.com/magazine/14-gardens-straight-out-of-fairy-tales-stsetivw-vs~42751730

- https://www.kaodim.com/blog/create-fairy-tale-garden-dreams/ 

- https://www.santabarbaradesignhouseandgardens.com/10-herbs-garden-ideas-awesome-and-also-stunning/

- https://www.plantedwell.com/garden-water-features/ 

- https://www.woohome.com/diy-2/top-23-surprising-diy-ideas-to-decorate-your-garden-fence

- https://www.upcyclethat.com/upcycled-garden-ideas/

- https://www.architectureartdesigns.com/14-fascinating-diy-ideas-for-decorating-garden-fence/

- https://onekindesign.com/2019/07/19/summer-garden-party-ideas/

- https://www.pinterest.com/karagatsby/twinkle-fairytale-lighting/ 

- https://onekindesign.com/2018/04/27/outdoor-garden-fountains/

- https://www.decorhomeideas.com/garden-fence-decoration-ideas/

If you'd like to see even more stories, poems, and articles in EC, please consider sponsoring us through Patreon. We have amazing rewards and every penny we receive goes to EC.